


Part of the family

by Cats_Dont_Float



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Established Relationship, Fluff, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Secret Relationship, there's a sort of mention of blood but it's not really anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21891586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Dont_Float/pseuds/Cats_Dont_Float
Summary: Dave gets kicked out of his Bro's apartment on Christmas Eve, and Karkat takes him over to his house for the holidays. Kankri and Cronus do their best to make Dave a part of their family.
Relationships: Cronus Ampora/Kankri Vantas, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 9
Kudos: 176





	Part of the family

It’s starting to rain as you walk home. It’s late winter, so it’s getting dark out too as the sun starts to set, and you’re eager to get back home where it’s warm and dry. You pass by the local park that’s at the end of your road, and can’t help grinning like a fool as you remember all the little dates you’ve had with your boyfriend in that very park.

You look up at that exact moment and spot said boyfriend. He’s sat on a swing, staring down at his feet, not even wearing a jacket, just a thin, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. The idiot.

“Dave!” You shout. Whether he hears you or not, you don’t know, but he certainly doesn’t react. You’re a little worried now, you’ll admit, and so you push open the gate to the park and hurry inside. He still doesn’t react, even when you’re right next to him.

“Hey, Dave.”

You watch your boyfriend for any sign of a reaction, but there’s nothing. He just continues to stare down at his old, battered converse as rain drops fall onto them and cut clean tracks through the dirt that’s gathered on the front of them.

“Dave.” You say again, and this time his head jerks a little, and you know he heard you. “Dave.”

He looks up slowly then. “Sup?” He murmurs. God, he sounds so miserable, the kind of miserable that makes you just want to pull him into the tightest hug possible and never let go. But right now, you’re scared that just touching him might break him, he looks so fragile. So you stay still and silent, waiting to see if he’ll talk.

“Bro kicked me out,” he says after a few impossibly long moments of silence have passed between you two. “This morning. He found… doesn’t matter, actually,” he clears his throat uncomfortable, “He just uh… had a problem with me.”

You know he’s lying, and that there’s more to it than that, but you don’t push him. After years of being Dave’s friend, you know exactly how to keep him calm and not wind him up in moments like these.

“So what are you going to…” you trail off as you suddenly spot the rucksack that’s abandoned on the ground by his feet. “Dave, were you planning to sleep in the park?” You ask him.

He looks up slowly, and then eventually nods.

“You idiot! In this weather? You’d have died!” You’re aware you sound like your brother right now, but you’re too worried about him to care. “You should have come to me, fuckass! God, I’m glad I walked past the park and saw you.”

As if on cue, there’s a rumble of thunder, and then the rain turns from a light drizzle to a full rainstorm in seconds.

“Fuck!” You hiss, jumping off your own swing, “Come on, idiot, let’s go back to mine.”

“Kat, no,” he says quietly, clenching his hands into fists frustratedly, “I can’t just intrude on your family like that.”

“You stay round all the time, Kankri doesn’t give a shit,” you say with a shrug.

“But it’s…”

“Oh,” you cut him off as you remember something, “It’s Christmas Eve.” Dave nods miserably. “Fuck! That asshole kicked you out on Christmas Eve? You were going to spend Christmas Eve in a fucking park?

“It’s not a big deal, Kat,” he sighs, “Just let it go.”

“No fucking way!” You snap, “Get your ass off that swing and come home with me! I’m not letting you freeze to death out here, come on.”

He stares at you for a second, or at least you think he’s looking at you. He might just be staring over your shoulder. It’s hard to tell with his shades on. Then he slowly gets up, picking up his bag from the floor and swinging it over his shoulder. You breathe out a heavy sigh of relief; you’d thought it would have been harder to get him to come with you. He can be pretty stubborn when he wants to.

The two of you walk silently across the muddy grass and out onto the street. The rain continues to fall heavily, and you shrug your jacket off and pass it wordlessly over to him. He doesn’t bother arguing, and even murmurs a quiet ‘thank you’ as he pulls it on and puts the hood up over his head. He’s practically stumbling over his own feet as he walks, clearly exhausted, and just looking at how distressed he is makes your heart ache.

When you get to your house, you realise your keys are in your jacket pocket though, and there’s a few awkward moments as you attempt to get them from the pocket without having to take the coat off of him. That actually coaxes a small laugh from him, though, which is a good sign.

“Kankri!” You call into the house as you step inside. There’s the sound of distant voices muttering, then footsteps heading towards you.

“Karkat,” Kankri says, appearing down the stairs. His hair’s a little messy and you’re pretty sure his sweater’s on backwards, and you have to stifle a small laugh. “Karkat, you can’t just be bringing people over when we have visitors and it’s family dinner tonight and-” he cuts himself off as he looks over properly at Dave.

It’s only then you realise what a state your friend’s in. There’s mud splattered over his clothes (you hope it’s all mud, some of it looks a little too red for your liking) and he’s visibly shaking, as well as being completely soaked despite having your jacket on.

“What happened?” Kankri says, speaking more gently now, and he hops down the last few stairs and approaches Dave slowly, in the same way that someone would approach a scared wild animal. Dave, predictably, flinches backwards, and you shake your head subtly at your brother, who seems to get the hint.

“Can Dave stay, please?” You ask, “He’s got nowhere else to go.”

Kankri stares at Dave for a second more, biting at his lower lip, then nods. “Of course,” he says, and you see Dave practically melt in relief beside you. 

Cronus appears suddenly then, looking a lot less flustered than Kankri was earlier. He straightens his leather jacket as he steps down to stand next to Kankri, and then stares at you and Dave curiously.

“Sup, Karks. What’s Dave doing here?” He drawls in his infuriating accent.

“He’s staying here for a little while,” Kankri says.

“Kid looks like shit warmed up,” Cronus says, and Dave flinches again. You scowl at Cronus and he winces slightly as Kankri elbows him.

“Come on, Dave, lets’ get your stuff unpacked, it’s probably wet,” you say, eager to get your friend away from Cronus, “You can leave your shoes down here.”

Dave, knowing your brother has strict house rules, has already kicked his shoes off and left them on the doormat, and he follows you eagerly as you head up to your own bedroom. You kick the bedroom door shut firmly behind you two, and then collapse onto your bed. Dave stands awkwardly around for a second, acting as if this isn’t the thousandth time he’s been in your room, but when you pat the space next to you gently he crawls onto the bed and tentatively curls up by your side.

“Hey,” you whisper quietly, “You okay?”

He shifts his head to rest it on your shoulder, and you feel the movement of him nodding. You don’t believe him though.

“Why’d your Bro kick you out?” You ask.

“I… you’ll be mad,” he says weakly.

“I won’t, promise,” you say softly, “Pinky promise.” You reach for his hand, linking your pinky with his, and hear him mutter ‘dork’ quietly.

“He, uh, found out about us,” Dave mutters, “I’m sorry, I know we agreed to keep it secret for now but he got into my phone while I was asleep Kat and I didn’t know until he woke me up and told me to get the fuck out of his house and I don’t know what to do.” 

By the time he finishes speaking he’s sobbing, and you roll over to wrap your arms around him and pull him close to your chest.

“Kat, he said, he said, he said,” he chokes and you hold him tighter until he can speak again, “He said he’s going to tell everyone I’m a fa-”

“Fuck him,” you say before he can finish his sentence, “Fuck. Him. The fucking ASSHOLE!” You roar the last word, and Dave tries to squirm away from you with a whine. “Oh, no, sorry,” you quickly add, dropping your voice to a low whisper, “I’m not angry at you, just your scumbag of a brother.”

“Kat, if he tells everyone I’m, you know, it’ll… it’ll make the bullies worse, for both of us,” he whispers.

“I know,” you say, squeezing his hand tightly, “But it’s okay, we’ll get through this. It’s not your fault, I’m not mad at you. Okay?”

He nods against your chest, his tears starting to soak into your already wet sweater, and you place a hand gently on the back of his head to hold him closely to you. The two of you are silent for a while then, just laying there together.

“He’s still got my phone,” Dave whispers after a while, “He’ll see everything.” He sounds genuinely scared, and you are too, though you won’t let him see it, not wanting to worry him more.

“Sollux might be able to do something,” you say softly, remembering your hacker friend, “I’ll text him now. I won’t tell him what it’s about, he won’t care as long as I pay him enough.”

Dave nods slowly, and the two of you sit up, you grabbing your phone to text your friend. Just as Sollux starts to reply, your brother calls for you from downstairs.

“Give me a second!” You call back, sending one more text to Sollux before crouching in front of Dave.

“Sol’s gonna see what he can do to hack your phone and destroy everything,” you tell him, “It’s the best we can do for now.” He looks doubtful, and so sad that you can’t stop yourself from leaning in and gently kissing him in some small attempt to try and make him feel a little better. Kankri calls for you again, and you pull back from Dave with a soft sigh.

“I’ll be back soon,” you say, kissing him once more before you get up and rush downstairs.

Your brother is waiting by the bottom of the stairs, and as you reach him you realise he’s putting his shoes on.

“Karkat,” he says, “What things does Dave like?”

“What?” 

“What things does he like?”

You’re still completely confused. “Kankri what the fuck are you going on about?” You ask.

“Language,” he tuts, “Look, Karkat, Dave’s obviously going through things at home, and though you won’t tell me what they are, he’s clearly not being looked after.”

“Kankri, please, I’ve told you before, you can’t call the police,” you protest. You know exactly what Dave’s Bro would do if the cops got called.

“I’m not going to do that,” he says, “I just think that if Dave’s going to be here for Christmas it would be nice to get him a present or two.”

You’re actually lost for words at that. Sometimes you forget that Kankri’s a good person. “You don’t have to do that,” you say.

“But I want to,” Kankri replies, “Now what does he want. Or need?”

“I don’t know, uh, he likes music,” you say, “And uh photography, and birds. Uh...he needs jackets, or sweaters, just warm clothes, stuff like that.”

“Okay,” Kankri says with a nod, “Now the shops are going to be closing soon so Cronus and I are going out right now.”

“Cronus is going too?” You ask.

“Course,” Cronus replies, and you jump. You hadn’t realised he’d crept up behind you. “Dave’s not the only one with a crappy father,” Cronus adds, “The kid obviously needs a little kindness.”

“Sorry, who are you and where’s the real Cronus? Where’s the asshole I’m used to?” You ask, scrunching up your nose. Cronus laughs, ruffling your hair gently.

“Come on,” Kankri huffs, shaking his head at Cronus, “Now, Karkat, get Dave some food, and keep this a surprise, okay?”

You grin. “Okay, thanks, Kankri.” You pull him into a quick hug that surprises him, and he huffs happily.

“It’s not a problem,” Kankri says, “Now let me get going.”

You watch Kanrki and Cronus leave, and then head back upstairs, where Dave is waiting nervously. You smile, and wrap him in a tight hug, kissing his forehead gently, before the two of you shuffle around to sit more comfortably.

“Kan and Cronus have gone to get more stuff for tomorrow,” you shrug, “They’ll be back soon. Wanna play video games?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he replies quietly. 

You break out the game you know Dave likes the most, and the two of you play for hours until Kankri and Cronus get back. You also make sure that Dave has eaten, before the two of you finally crawl into bed later that night. He’s exhausted from a long day, and within minutes of you turning out the lights he passes out by your side. And you just smile faintly, roll over, and cuddle up closer to his side before you fall asleep too.

***************

You’re woken up by none other than your brother, who apparently has absolutely no idea what privacy is. You jump up as you realise that you’ve got Dave wrapped tightly in your arms, but Kankri just smiles fondly at the two of you.

“I’ve known for ages, you two are constantly making eyes at each other,” he tells you quietly as you stumble to find something to say about you and Dave, “Get yourselves up and dressed, I’m making breakfast.”

You stare at him for a second, lost for words, and then let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thanks, Kan,” you whisper, “Merry Christmas.”

He grins as he backs out of your room. “Merry Christmas,” he whispers back before pulling the door closed quietly behind him. You stare after him for a few more seconds, then roll over and wake your boyfriend up with a kiss.

******************************

“Really, Kat, I don’t wanna intrude on Christmas,” Dave says a while later as you two stand side by side in the bathroom, brushing your teeth.

“Dave, you’re welcome here, more welcome than you think,” you tell him, “Now shut your mouth and brush your teeth.”

“Think it’s impossible to do both at the same time, but okay,” he shrugs, and you elbow him playfully with a grin. He pulls faces in the mirror at you whilst you finish brushing your teeth, and then you pull him into a soft kiss that tastes like toothpaste before you two head downstairs.

Kankri and Cronus are dancing around to Christmas music in the kitchen as they make breakfast, and you and Dave both take a second to laugh at them from the hallway.

“Merry Christmas, boys!” Kankri grins when the two of you walk in, and you both echo it back to him. Then Cronus is passing plates of food out whilst Kankri goes to pour out mugs of hot chocolate, and you all cluster around the little kitchen table to eat together.

*********************** 

“Present time!” Kankri declares later, once you’ve all eaten, and you grin faintly as you look over at Dave, who’s looking a little awkward again. He’s got no idea what’s coming, and you’re beyond excited to see his face when he realises he’s actually got presents to open.

“Come on,” you whisper to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the living room. He glances down at your hand fearfully, and you whisper, “Kankri has apparently known about us for months and just didn’t mention it. He’s not as much of an asshole as I thought.”

Dave doesn’t look convinced, but he nods, and lets you drag him into the living room. 

Cronus is draped across one sofa, and Kankri’s crouched near the Christmas tree, so you and Dave settle down on the other sofa, Dave instinctively sitting a little too far away from you to look normal.

“Can I give Dave mine for him first?” You ask, and Kankri nods.

“You got me something?” He asks, “Shit, Kat, I didn’t…”

“Doesn’t matter,” you tell him firmly. Kankri grabs your present for you and you take it, passing it over to Dave. “It’s only something stupid,” you tell him with a small shrug.

He turns it over in his hands a few times, then slowly rips open the paper. He pulls out a hard-backed book, and you watch as he flips the first few pages open and stares at all the photos and random things you’ve stuck in there. All your memories with him.

“Dave?” You ask slowly when he’s been staring silently down at the book for a long time.

“It’s… great, Kat, I love it,” he says, voice weak, and you scoot closer to him so you can wrap him a weird sort of sideways hug. He turns his head to press his face into your hair, and you gently shoosh him as you feel him start to tremble a little.

After a few moments, though, he suddenly sits back up, as if only then remembering it’s not just you two in the room.

“Uh,” he clears his throat, “I’ll uh, look at this later.” He closes the book, but keeps it clutched tightly in his hands, and you know he’s so much more grateful than he might seem to others.

“Okay, uh, the rest of the presents,” Kankri says, “I’ve split them into piles for everyone.” Dave glances down awkwardly as Kankri says this, and you reach for his hand gently, squeezing it tightly and running your thumb across a raised scar across his knuckles. Kankri starts to hand out presents, and then reaches Dave.

“Okay, David, these are yours,” he says, handing over a small pile to Dave, “Sorry, it’s not much but-”

“You got me presents?” Dave asks and, oh, his voice sounds so small.

“Of course,” Kankri says, “Cronus and I would never let anyone go without presents in this house on Christmas.”

“But, I’m not your family,” Dave says softly, and his bottom lip is starting to tremble, “You didn’t have to-” 

“Nonsense,” Kankri says gently, “You are as much a member of the family as Cronus is.”

“Thank you,” Dave whispers. He takes the pile of presents slowly from him and clutches at them tightly. A tear runs out from underneath his shades, and he puts a hand up to catch it before it runs down his cheek.

“There’s no order to present opening in this house,” you tell him, “It’s just kind of chaos, everyone opens everything at once. Go for it.”

“Oh, okay,” he says softly. He doesn’t move though, and so you reach for one of the presents Kankri gave you, and start to open it, hoping it’ll convince Dave to open one of his. Kankri and Cronus are doing the same thing, and eventually Dave picks one up and starts to pick slowly at the wrapping paper with one fingernail.

You thank Cronus and Kankri for the weirdly disturbing cartoon crab plush they’ve given you, and watch as Cronus cackles slightly. You assume he brought this one for you. Then you look over just in time watch Dave unfold a shirt that’s bright red and patterned with tiny black birds. He stares at it for a second, then reaches a hand under his shades to rub furiously at his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he grunts, getting to his feet, “I can’t do this.”

Before anyone can react, he jumps to his feet and rushes away. Seconds later you hear the back door slide open.

“I’ll get him,” you say, “Keep opening presents, I’ll be back in a second.”

You find Dave in the back garden, sat on the patio and staring out at the garden.

“Dave,” you say quietly to let him know you’re there before you sit down by his side, “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

He looks over at you, then pushes his shades up into his hair. His eyes are bloodshot and puffy, and you have a feeling he’s been crying secretly all day.

“I’ve… never had presents before,” he says, “Bro said I didn’t deserve them and… and then your brother just, just, g-gets me the perfect present, like he knows me better than my own brother and I… it’s not okay. I always thought it was okay when I was younger, but it’s fucking not.” He thumps a fist down onto the patio then hisses in pain, and you instantly grab his hand and cradle it gently in yours.

“You’ve never had presents before?” You whisper quietly. He shakes his head miserably. “Then that’s all the more reason to get back inside and open the rest of them,” you say, “Really piss your Bro off, you know?”

He stares at you for a second more, then lets out a small sob. “I love you,” he says, and you instantly pull him close to you, cradling his head against your chest.

“I love you too, you wonderful idiot,” you say softly, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Now can we please get inside? It’s fucking freezing out here.”

He nods, gripping at your sweater. “Yeah, yeah okay,” he says, “Just…”

“Yeah, let’s take it easy,” you smile, “Go at your own pace.”

He smiles brightly then, and it actually reaches his eyes. You grip his hand tightly as you pull him to his feet and then the two of you head back inside.

There’s laughter inside when you walk back in, and you find Kankri and Cronus tumbling around on the floor, Cronus hitting Kankri over the head with what looks like a balled up t-shirt. Dave freezes for a second, but then Kankri lets out a giggle, and he relaxes when he realises they’re just having fun.

“What the fuck are you two doing?” You ask, flopping down onto the sofa and pulling Dave with you so he ends up draped across your chest.

Kankri looks up from underneath Cronus. “Help me,” he begs, “He’s going to crush me.”

“Rude,” Cronus declares, smacking Kankri again, “And anyway, you deserve this.”

“Kankri, what did you do?” You ask with a laugh. Cronus tosses the t-shirt over to you, and you unravel it slowly before letting out a cackle. In massive, white capital letters across the middle of the shirt is the word ‘BOTTOM’.

“Kankri!” you laugh, while Dave lets out a small snort of laughter. "The real question is: did you get yourself a matching one that says TOP?" Kankri blushes, and you instantly regret asking that, so you just toss the shirt back to Cronus, who is finally letting your brother stand up. Kankri gets up slowly, glances over at you and Dave, nods faintly at you, then smooths down his sweater and seats himself back on the sofa.

“So, uh, more presents?” You suggest, and everyone quickly nods and the other go back to opening their presents. You gently turn to Dave, only to find he’s already picking one up, and you nod encouragingly at him.

Dave opens a few more shirts and items of clothing, along with some cds of bands Cronus assumes he will like, and a new pair of headphones. An hour later, you’re all sitting on the floor now amongst piles of presents and screwed up wrapping paper, and you’re laughing as Cronus and Kankri attempt to set up a new board game on the coffee table.

“Hey,” you whisper quietly to Dave, “You can keep your new stuff here, if you want. Then Bro can’t get to them.”

“Thank you,” he whispers back. You hold his hand, looking up at him with a small smile. He’s completely taken his shades off, his hair’s a little messy, and he’s looking ridiculously cute huddled up in a new ugly Christmas sweater that Kankri got him. “Come to the kitchen for a second,” you whisper to him, grabbing onto his hand. He nods, and follows you out to the kitchen. Luckily Kankri and Cromnus are distracted, and you get away without either of them noticing.

“What?” He asks when you’re alone.

“I just kinda wanna kiss you,” you whisper, leaning in close to him, and he smiles faintly.

“Yeah, okay, sounds good to me,” he says with a small awkward laugh, and you laugh at him softly. As he continues to shift around a little awkwardly, you reach out and pull him closely towards you before stretching up on your toes to kiss him. He instantly leans in and puts a hand on your lower back to hold you closer to him as he kisses you. For a few moments there’s nothing but the feeling of his lips against yours and the feel of his hands tangling in your hair. Then someone clears their throat and you two jump apart.

“Cool,” Cronus says slowly, leaning against the doorframe, “Extra gay Christmas.”

“Oh my god, fuck off Cronus,” you say, searching around to find something to throw at him and eventually choosing a pair of oven mitts to toss directly into his face. Kankri appears behind him at that point.

“Karkat! Language!” He snaps, wrapping his arms around Cronus’s waist from behind him and peering around him. “Oh, what were you two doing?”

You and Dave are still half holding each other, and you’re definitely both flushed and a little bit breathless. Kankri’s right to be a bit concerned.

“Sorry, can I not kiss my fucking boyfriend in peace around here?” You huff, and feel Dave tense in your arms slightly.

“Yes, you can,” Kankri says, grabbing one of Cronus’s hands, “Come on, Cronus, give them a moment.”

As the two of them head back into the living room, you turn to face Dave, but both of you are laughing too much. “Moment ruined?” You ask.

“Yeah, definitely,” he says with a laugh, raising one eyebrow. “Let’s go see what the others are doing.”

The rest of the day is spent playing bad party games, eating slightly too much food, and watching terrible Christmas movies. Dave now seems a little more comfortable being open about your relationship around Kankri and Cronus, and spends most of the day with his arms around you, occasionally pressing little kisses to your face.

“Oh, Dave,” Kankri says at the end of the day when you’re all laying on the sofas, wrapped in blankets and watching Home Alone, “Got one last thing for you.” He throws a small package over towards the two of you, and Dave slowly takes it and opens it up, looking nervous again.

There’s a key inside.

“Look, I know things aren’t great for you at home,” Kankri says, “So that’s a key to our house, so you’ve got somewhere safe to go at anytime, even if we’re away or busy or whatever.”

Dave looks like he’s about to burst into tears again,then he just shoves the key into his pocket and clears his throat. You look over at Kankri in surprise. You had no idea he was going to do that, and you mouth ‘thank you’ at him with a smile. Dave gets to his feet, surprising everyone, and crosses the room to quickly pull Kankri into a hug.

“Thank you so much,” Dave mutters, “Life’s shitty, but you guys make it not so bad.”

“Language,” Kankri tuts very softly, “And you’re welcome, David. Welcome to the family.”

“Kankri, it’s just Dave,” you whine, and your brother laughs softly.

“Sorry, Dave,” he corrects himself, “Merry Christmas, Dave.”

Dave grins down at Kankri. “Merry Christmas,” he replies softly, “Thank you for everything.”

You end that night curled up in bed with Dave, the terrible plush crab that Cronus got you crushed between the two of you. Dave’s still scared, and there’s still so much that needs to be sorted out to get him away from his Bro for good. But you’re just glad that you got to give Dave a good Christmas for once.

“Merry Christmas, Dave,” you whisper, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead, “I love you.”

“Love you too,” he mutters quietly, already half asleep, “Merry Christmas.”

**Author's Note:**

> cronus is a bottom and no one can convince me otherwise.  
> anyway, i've been wanting to write soft family feels for a while and why not set it at christmas, ya know?? also i became very aware whilst writing this that i have no idea what american neighbourhoods look like. do you guys even have little parks on some streets? also do americans celebrate christmas different? like apparently y'all don't have mince pies which is wack because that's the only good christmas food. so like sorry if some parts of this fic don't make sense, i have no concept of what america is like.
> 
> Happy holidays guys!!!! this is my last christmas fic of the year and i'm gonna miss writing them


End file.
